Daniel 9 Verses 1 to 23 Prayer to Heal Our Land December 11, 2022

Daniel 9 Verses 1 to 23 Prayer to Heal Our Land December 11, 2022

Class Presentation Notes AAA

Background Scriptures:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NASB) 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Main Idea: We should pray with an open Bible and an open heart.

Study Aim: To understand that revival will not come to our land until we start confessing our personal and national sins to God.

Create Interest:

· Prophecy is a fascinating subject. Most people would like to know what is in store for them in the future. What lies ahead for them? What is their destiny? Is there some way to change their lives? People spend fortunes annually seeking the help or opinion of the “experts,” that is, the astrologers, mediums, fortune-tellers, palm-readers, psychics, and others who claim to be able to look into the future to predict or change people’s destiny.

· The prophecies so far have revealed much about history. In Daniel chapter nine, we find Daniel falling on his knees praying. Praying was an important part of Daniel’s life. This chapter follows Daniel 5:31 in the chronological order of the book.

· There are three significant ninth chapters in the Old Testament, all of them containing a prayer of similar nature: Ezra 9; Nehemiah 9, and Daniel 9. In each case, the servant of God is on his knees before the Word of God, praying for God’s people. Here in Daniel 9, we see God’s unguarded prayer of confession. As we look at his prayer, let’s examine our own prayer life.

· This chapter is one of the key chapters in the Bible because it addresses not only the issue of prayer, but it records a key prophecy in Scripture.

o Some Bible scholars have referred to this chapter as the Backbone of Bible Prophecy. Let’s find the treasures within it.[1]

Lesson in Historical Context:

· Daniel is one of the most extraordinary people of the Bible. He was a man of strong convictions who boldly stood for those convictions. As a young man and an exile in a foreign land, he refused to eat the meat and drink the wine from the king’s table. Daniel was able to serve God faithfully in a pagan land and even rise to high government office in that land. He was a man of prayer whose commitment to his prayer routine resulted in his being thrown into the den of lions, from which God delivered him. He was given the gift of interpreting dreams, signs, and visions. He was taken to Babylon as a young man in 605 B.C. and was still living in 535 B.C. He served in two of the ancient world’s great empires—Babylon and Persia.

· In Daniel 9:18 Daniel beseeched God to “incline thine ear.” The Hebrew word nata means “stretch out,” “spread out,” “extend,” “incline,” or “bend.” The word is often used with “ear.” This phrase was sometimes used of pupils being challenged to pay attention (Prov. 22:17) and of people needing to listen to God (Jer. 7:24). It is also used in prayers beseeching God to hear and answer prayers (2 Kings 19:16).

· Daniel prayed an earnest prayer of confession of sins to God on behalf of Israel. Inspired by Jeremiah’s prophecy of the return from exile after 70 years, he prayed to the great God of all things. He contrasted the people’s sins with the righteousness of God. He concluded with a plea for God to show mercy and to fulfill His promise.[2]

· This passage opens with Daniel deeply concerned about the future of his dear people and their painful suffering under Babylonian rule. For over seventy years the Jews had been exiled in Babylon. Throughout the years Daniel had seen his people broken, discouraged, suffering, and at times overcome by a spirit of hopelessness. Now, as an aged man, he did the only thing he could do to help them: he turned to the Lord. He sought answers concerning his people and begged God for comfort through the Scriptures and prayer.[3]

· Daniel 9:1–19 contains one of the most remarkable prayers in the whole Bible. It runs on the dual tracks of (1) corporate confession of sin and (2) recognition of the greatness, awesomeness, righteousness, and holiness of God as expressions of his character. It is a model prayer for how God’s people should pray for a nation. But even more, it is a model for how God’s people should pray for a desolate and rebellious community of faith. This passage shows God’s man confessing and interceding for God’s sinful people!

· The brokenness and humility of Daniel as he prays for “all Israel” (v. 7) is amazing. Yet we should not be surprised. As the faithful Baptist preacher of London, Charles Spurgeon, said,

o “A True-Hearted believer does not live for himself. Where there is abundance of grace, a great strength of mind in the service of God, there is sure to be a spirit of unselfishness.… Daniel’s prayer should, by the blessing of God’s Spirit, inspire us with the spirit of prayer; and that his example, in forgetting himself, and remembering his people, should help us to be unselfish, and lead us to care for our people—even God’s people—to whom we have the honor and privilege to belong.” (Sermons on the Book of Daniel, 99–100)

· We are going to look at this prayer in four movements: verses 1–2, 3, 4–14, and 15–19. And we will bracket each movement with great statements on prayer from precious saints who have delighted in talking to our heavenly Father. In doing so, we will immerse ourselves in the purifying waters of prayer, asking God to make us men and women of prayer like we see exemplified in his prophet named Daniel.[4]

· In verses 20 to 23 we will look at God’s response to this heartfelt plea.

Bible Study:

Let Your Prayers Flow from Your Study of the Scriptures

Daniel 9:1–2

Daniel 9:1-2 (NASB) 1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely,seventy years.

“Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it.” Corrie ten Boom

· Daniel provides a historical marker for us in verse 1: it was the first year of Darius the Mede (another name or title for Cyrus; cf. 5:31; 6:1). The date is ca. 538 BC, approximately twelve years after the vision recorded in chapter 8 (Miller, Daniel, 240). Daniel is now more than eighty years old. He outlived the Babylonian Empire and now serves under Medo-Persia.

· The overthrow of the Babylonian Kingdomby the Medo-Persians was indeed a momentous event. It had been revealed to Belshazzar through Daniel’s interpretation of the writing on the wall (5:25–28, 30). The Babylonian overthrow prepared the way for liberation of the Jews who had been in exile since Nebuchadnezzar’s first invasion of Jerusalem in 605 b.c. Besides predicting the overthrow of the people Jeremiah had also predicted that Israel’s sojourn in Babylon was to last 70 years (Jer. 25:11–12).

· Evidently moved by Darius’ victory Danielsearched the Scriptures to understand the events of which he was a vital part. He understood Darius’ victory meant that the termination of the 70-year Captivity was near. Thus, these significant events became even more momentous for Daniel.[5]

· When God makes a promise in his Word, it is not conditional or potential. It will come to pass just as he says it will. No other god can do that because all other gods are mere idols, often empowered and energized by demons. Isaiah 44:6–20 contains a scathing denouncement on them and those who make and worship them.

· Daniel believed in predictive prophecy, as should we. He saw it as he read and meditated on Scripture and trusted it as a reliable word from God. Exiled, captive in a godless land, and moving rapidly toward the end of his life, he still had great hope for his people in light of the sure and certain promises of the Word of God. Confidence in the promises of God did not move him to complacency. It drove him to action and to his knees. Immersion in Scripture will energize prayer!

Thoughts to Soak On

· Reflecting on these two verses, we would all do well to ask,

o Do I struggle to pray as I ought because I do not know Scripture as I should?

o Do I fail to approach my God well because I do not soak in his Word well?

o God delights in the prayers of his children that emerge out of time in his Word.

o Only as we deepen our understanding of God as revealed in the Bible will our praying become richer and more soundly based on who God is. (Fyall, Daniel, 147)

Let Your Prayers Humbly Take You into the Presence of God

Daniel 9:3

Where the mind isn’t brimming with the Bible, the heart is not generally brimming with prayer.

John Piper, “How to Pray for a Desolate Church,” 1992

Daniel 9:3 (NASB) 3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.

· Daniel’s prayer did not consist of a few insincere words uttered before falling asleep at night. He prayed fervently to the Lord with a determined heart. “I turned” literally reads, “I gave my face.” Daniel determined to look to God in prayer until the Lord gave him an answer.

· His appeal was directed toward “the Lord [ʾădōnāy] God.” The name ʾădōnāy means “owner, ruler, or sovereign” and identifies Yahweh as the owner and ruler of the universe. Not only was he able to hear Daniel’s prayer, but he had the power to direct the affairs of world history in order to answer his prayer.

· “Fasting” demonstrated the prophet’s deep concern to God; being clothed in “sackcloth” (coarse, rough cloth) and sitting in “ashes” were expressions of humility that commonly accompanied fasting (cf. Esth 4:1–3)[6]

o Purposeful Planning. Prayer was no haphazard matter with Daniel. He wrote, “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.”

J. Vernon McGee

o First, let fasting be done unto the Lord with our eye singly fixed on Him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father which is in heaven. John Wesley

· Fasting is the withholding of food from the body for the sake of prioritizing something else, such as prayer. Sackcloth was a rough material, most likely made from animal skins that would have been an irritant to the skin, and was a mark of repentance. Ashes symbolized complete ruin. In other words, the posture Daniel took was of visible lament. (Daniel for You, 159)

· Daniel turned to the Lord with a heavy heart, a burden he could hardly bear. Indeed he could not bear it without God’s help and strength. Daniel’s prayer should remind us of a prayer offered in a garden called Gethsemane some six hundred years later. In Gethsemane, in prayers and petitions, our Lord Jesus turned his face to his Father in humble pleas for mercy (Luke 22:39–44). The burden of bearing the sins of the world (John 1:29) caused “his sweat [to become] like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Coming humbly, dependently, into the presence of his Father, his prayer was heard (“not my will, but yours, be done,” v. 42), and strength was provided for enduring the cross that lay ahead.

· We note first the prophet’s preparation(9:3).

o If Daniel’s people had learned nothing by their exile, then Daniel would pray for them.

o If they would not confess the sins that had brought God’s judgment on the nation, then Daniel would confess for them.

o He was a Jew and was one of them.

o He would identify himself with the sins of the people and confess their sins as though they were his own.

o He would pray. He would fast. As rich and powerful as he was, clothed in fine raiment, and man of God though he was, he nonetheless would don sackcloth and bathe in ashes.

o He would assume the garb and guise of a penitent.

o He would show God how deeply he, at least, felt about these things.[7]

Thoughts to Soak On

· Daniel humbled himself to pray. Jesus humbled himself both to pray and to prepare for his passion. It is truly unconscionable that we would ever think to burst into God’s presence in arrogance or pride, in hubris or vainglory. When we know our sins and the sins of our people, we will approach God on our knees and with our faces to the ground. Only then can we turn our faces to the Lord with our prayers and pleas. Only then can we rightly pour out our hearts and souls to “the Lord [our] God.”

All vital prayer makes a drain on a man’s vitality. True intercession is a sacrifice, a bleeding sacrifice.

J. H. Jowett, The Passion for Souls, 1905

Let Your Prayers Be Characterized by Honest and Full Confession of Sin

Daniel 9:4–14

Daniel 9:4-14 (NASB) 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 "Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. 7 "Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8 "Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 "To the Lord our God belongcompassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; 10 nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. 11 "Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. 12 "Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. 13 "As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. 14 "Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

The great people of the earth today are people who pray, (not) those who talk about prayer.

S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Prayer, 1904

· Daniel’s prayer begins with the Bible and it is saturated with the Bible. Phrase after phrase comes right out of Scripture. There are allusions to Leviticus (26:40) and Deuteronomy (28:64) and Exodus (34:6) and Psalms (44:14) and Jeremiah (25:11). The prayer brims with a biblical view of reality, because it brims with the Bible. (“How to Pray for a Desolate Church”)

· Too often we rush into God’s presence and ask for things, without first pausing to worship Him. Daniel prepared himself for prayer, as did Ezra (Ezra 9:3–5) and the Levites (Neh. 9:5–6). It’s important that we focus on the character of God and not become too preoccupied with ourselves and our burdens.

· The “invocation” to Daniel’s prayer is a primer of biblical theology.

o His words describe a God who is great and faithful to keep His promises, a God who loves His people and gives them His Word to obey so that He can bless them. He is a merciful God (Dan. 9:18) who forgives the sins of His people when they come to Him in contrition and confession. This is also the way Nehemiah prayed when he sought God’s will concerning rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 1:5ff).

· It’s one thing to pray to the Lord and quite something else to be a worshiping intercessor. When we see the greatness and glory of God, it helps to put our own burdens and needs in proper perspective. By exercising even little faith in a great God, we can move the hand of God to accomplish wonders that will glorify His name. Dr. Robert A. Cook used to say, “If you can explain what’s going on in your ministry, God didn’t do it.”[8]

· In terms of content, one is overwhelmed by the use of the word “we” and the piling up of terms used to describe Israel and Judah’s sin. Concerning the use of “we” and Daniel’s solidarity with the Hebrews in their sin, Bryan Chapell (Pastor Emeritus of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Il. And Covenant Theological Seminary) well says,

o Daniel confesses the reality of his sin and the people’s sin because he has been called to carry their burden as his own even though he did not cause the burden. He feels responsible for the people under his care. (Gospel According to Daniel, 158)

· 4-6: Confession of sin, both individual and collective, was made in these verses. We have sinned. Daniel associated himself with his people. He did not consider himself to be above others in righteousness. A nation’s sins must be confessed by God’s people if they seek God’s mercy for their land.

· 7–9. Daniel acknowledged God’s righteous activities in scattering His people Israel. They justly deserved it. All classes in Israel were involved in wickedness, but Daniel reminded God of His attributes of mercies and forgivenesses.

o Righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face: Daniel knew that Israel’s sin was not God’s fault; God was utterly righteous and blameless. Any shame of face belonged to Israel, not to God.

o It would be easy to complain to God about Israel’s problems. Daniel didn’t think for a moment that God was too hard on Israel; he knew God was completely righteous and any failure was on Israel’s side.

o Instead of complaining, Daniel confessed. During times of great revival among God’s people, the Holy Spirit always brings a deep conviction and awareness of sin.

§ When that is responded to rightly, confession is appropriately made. J. Edwin Orr gives a good principle to govern confession:

📷 “If you sin secretly, confess secretly, admitting publicly that you need the victory but keeping details to yourself.

📷 If you sin openly confess openly to remove stumbling blocks from those whom you have hindered.

📷 If you have sinned spiritually (prayerlessness, lovelessness, and unbelief as well as their offspring, criticism, etc.) then confess to the church that you have been a hindrance.”[9]

· 10–14. As a result of neglecting God’s law, persecution came upon Israel, just as God had promised. Yet, even in the midst of all that, as Daniel noted, they refused to pray or to turn from our iniquities and understand thy truth (vs. 13). The contrast was that God is righteous; but as Daniel had to confess, the people had obeyed not his voice (vs. 14).[10]

· Amazingly, this portion of the prayer (vv. 4–14) ends with the indictment, “But we have not obeyed [the Lord].” Dale Davis (Professor of Old Testament Theology in Jackson, Miss.) provides words of wisdom when he writes,

o “Daniel seems to be saying that though Israel had gone through the ravages of God’s curse, the people remained unchanged, unbroken, unrepentant.… Israel has a history of rebellion and idolatry and has suffered God’s judgment for it but it has not driven them to godly grief and genuine repentance.… What good will it do to have a people back in the land with still no sense of their sin and no exercise in repentance? Who have never been crushed in spirit over their idolatry? It’s not Israel alone—humanity in general is averse to admitting sin and guilt.”(Message of Daniel, 118)

o To such an accusation, we all must confess: guilty as charged.

To get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees.

Billy Graham

Let Your Prayers Move to Petition and Pleas Grounded in God’s Character

Daniel 9:15–19

Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude—an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God. Arthur Pink, The Sovereignty of God, 1918.

Daniel 9:15-19 (NASB) 15 "And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16 "O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. 17 "So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. 18 "O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. 19 "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."

· The righteous Judge (God) and the prosecuting attorney (Daniel), have found God’s people tried and found guilty. There will be no appeal. No retrial. The evidence is too great. It is irrefutable. Is there then any hope? Is there any court or avenue of grace and forgiveness? Mercifully the answer is yes, there is! Sinclair Ferguson(Scottish Theologian known in Reformed Christian circles for his teaching and writing) is so helpful here when he says,

o “Daniel sees the righteousness of God both as the basis for God’s judgment of the people (v. 7) and also the basis for his own prayer for forgiveness (v. 16). How can this be? In Scripture, “righteousness” basically means “integrity.” Sometimes it is defined as “conformity to a norm.”

o In the case of God, the norm to which He conforms is His own being and character. He is true to Himself; He always acts in character. (Daniel, 178) This would be a great place for discussion.

· In a prayer that is clearly God centered but people oriented (ibid., 179), Daniel appeals to “the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant” (v. 4) to act for the sake of his own name, to move according to his character, righteousness, and “abundant compassion” (v. 18).

o In verse 15 Daniel appeals to the exodus and God’s gracious deliverance of a sinful and undeserving people (then and now).

o In verse 16 he appeals to God’s righteous acts and pleads that the Lord would turn away his “anger and wrath” from “your city Jerusalem.” Why? Because “Jerusalem and your people have become an object of ridicule [ESV, “byword”] to all those around us” (cf. Hezekiah’s prayer in 2 Kgs 19:14–19). Dale Davis again is right: “Daniel batters heaven with appeals to God’s honor” (Message of Daniel, 120).

o It is God’s city, his holy hill, his people (v. 16), his servant, his desolate sanctuary (v. 17), his name (v. 18), his own sake, his city, his people, his name (v. 19).

· Daniel’s plea begins to build as he asks God to “hear the prayer and the petitions of your servant.

o Make your face shine” (v. 17). “Listen closely, my God, and hear.

o Open your eyes and see” our devastation on what “bears your name.” Lord, we appeal to “your abundant compassion” (v. 18).

o Then reaching a crescendo he cries out in verse 19: Lord, hear! Forgive! Listen and act. Do not delay. Do it not for our sake, for we are undeserving. Lord, do it for your own sake!

o Do it because it will bring glory to your name and show the nations just who you are and what you are like. You ruined your own reputation to drive us to repentance. Restore your name and reputation for your sake. We are not worthy. But Lord, you are!

“God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil.”

E. M. Bounds, Purpose in Prayer, 19th c.

Conclusion: How Does This Text Point to Christ?

· Alfred Tennyson says, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of” (Fyall, Daniel: A Tale of Two Cities,131). The Bible teaches us how true that is, especially when a man of God intercedes for the people of God. Moses, in Exodus 32 (cf. Deut 9:13–14), pleads with God not to destroy the people for their idolatry. Instead, he asks God to take his life in their place. God did not wipe them out.

· Here Daniel identifies himself with his people in their sin, making their sin his sin. Both anticipate the greater Moses (Deut 18:15–20) and the greater Daniel who will identify himself with those He will save and substitute himself in death, taking their place and bearing the punishment of their sin.

· We should note the important role prayer played in the past but also in the present.

o In the past, in the garden of Gethsemane, our Lord was troubled and wept in prayer as he prepared to take on the sins of the world and to bear in his own body the judgment and wrath of God.

o But now, as Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25 tell us, we have an intercessor in heaven, a great high priest, who pleads our cause before “the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands” (Dan 9:4).

§ The prayer of Moses draws my admiration.

§ The prayer of Daniel inspires my emulation.

§ The prayers of Jesus move me to adoration.

o His prayers led him to experience “public shame” (v. 7) in my place.

o His prayers my God heard.

o His prayers led my God to forgive.

· Hearing the prayers of His own dear Son, my God paid attention and He acted, raising Jesus from the dead after which Christ ascended on high and is “able to save completely those who come to God through Him, since he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb 7:25).

· Praise God for loving, praying people and worship God through the Jesus in the person of the Holy Spirit who is a praying God!

Reflect and Discuss

1. Prayer reveals much about who we truly are. What does your prayer life reveal about you?

2. What are some ways the Scriptures can and should shape our prayers?

3. What are some practical ways you can incorporate the Scriptures into your prayer life?

4. Many Christians find that it is more difficult to pray when they do not spend time in God’s Word. Why do you think that is? Do you find it to be true in your own life? If so, explain.

5. Why are pride and prayer so opposed to one another?

6. Daniel brings his heavy heart to the Lord in this text. Are there any burdens you need to take to God in humility and confidence in his character?

7. What barriers or excuses do you use to avoid honest and full confession of sin to God?

8. Daniel explicitly lumps himself in with the rebellious people of Israel. How does this instruct how we should relate to other Christians?

9. How is God’s discipline of his people consistent with his character? How are his mercy and forgiveness consistent with his character?

10. How does Daniel’s identification with the people of Israel point to the gospel and what Christ has done for you?[11]

Daniel 9:20-23 (NASB) 20 Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORDmy God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, 21 while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. 22 He gave meinstruction and talked with me and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. 23 "At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you,for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.

· Daniel’s prayer was answered in remarkable fashion. Very often, we pray and wonder whether anyone was listening, or whether our prayer simply bounced off the ceiling.

· In this case, though, the Lord sent an angel to address Daniel’s concerns while he was still praying (Dan. 9:20–21). Now there is prayer power! However, in general terms, we can say that Daniel’s prayer received both an immediate and an ultimate answer.

· God’s immediate answer to Daniel’s prayer was to raise up Cyrus, the Persian king, who issued the decree that allowed the Jews to return to their home. This decree was issued in 538 b.c., within a year of the fall of the Babylonian empire, so it occurred almost immediately after Daniel’s prayer in the first year of Darius. Daniel prayed, and in response God moved the heart of the greatest ruler of the day to bring about a return of his people to their land, where they could once again rebuild the ruined temple.

· The problem of Israel’s rebellious heart that caused the exile in the first place would not be dealt with merely by bringing them back to the land. That would require a much more awesome demonstration of God’s greatness and grace, which would be accomplished in the coming of Jesus.

Thoughts to Soak On

· Jesus is the one in whom God would deal once and for all with our sin, and thus fulfill his original purposes for his people.

· In Jesus, there is an unparalleled demonstration of God’s greatness. With the coming of Jesus, God’s glory was revealed on earth in a way never before seen. The Word became flesh: the almighty God who created the universe became incarnate in a little baby.

· As John says in his Gospel, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

· In Jesus was light, the true light that gives light to every man (John 1:9). Yet the coming of the light of God to dwell among man did not in itself transform us.

· Instead, it simply revealed the ugly truth about us: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). The revelation of God’s holy greatness did not deal with our sin; it simply made our sin even more visible.

· Yet in Jesus, God did not come to condemn the world (John 3:17). Jesus was the expression not merely of God’s greatness and holiness, but also of God’s grace.

· The true God is the God of grace and holiness, who has provided the real solution to our sin problem in Jesus.

o He did so at the cross, the ultimate manifestation of God’s righteousness and grace.

o If God were simply a God of righteousness, then there is no explanation for the cross. He could simply and justly have blotted us out of existence for our sin, as Daniel confessed. In fact, the Bible could have been reduced to three sentences: God created a perfect world for the man and the woman. They sinned. End of story.

o Similarly, Israel’s own story would have ended with their rebellion and exile, never to rise again.

§ Only God’s nature as a God of grace explains His patience with his Old Testament people.

§ Only His grace accounts for his extraordinary loving condescension in becoming a man and suffering the shame and agonies of the cross to redeem his people.

§ Only God’s grace explains Jesus’ willingness to undergo the period of excruciating separation from his Father for the first time in all eternity, so that we, the guilty sinners who deserved to be separated forever from his light, might inherit his promises instead.[12]

A closing thought from Dr. Adrian Rogers shared June 28, 1992 in a sermon entitled, “Praying for America” with support Scripture Daniel 9:1-23.

· “And what prayer is, my dear friend, is the Holy Spirit finding a desire in the heart of the Father, putting that desire into our heart, and then sending it back to heaven in the power of the blood. That’s what it is. He is praying now. This is the power of his prayer. He is praying in the power of the shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

· Now, dear friend, I am calling you to prayer.

o I am calling you to set your face in prayer.

o I am calling you, my dear friend, just to see who God is.

o I am calling you to pray for the glory of God.

o I am calling upon you to confess your sins personally and our sins nationally.

o And I am calling upon you to pray for America as Daniel prayed for his people: in the power of the shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

§ It is prayer time in America.•[13]

Grace and Peace to all who read this😊

I pray you will share it with others.

[1] Rod Mattoon, Treasures from Daniel, Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2008), 231. [2] Ross H. McLaren, ed., Family Bible Study, Spring 2003, Herschel Hobbs Commentary (LifeWay Christian Resources, 2003), 28–29. [3]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Daniel-Hosea, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2008), 111. [4]Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Daniel (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2017), Da 9:1–19. [5] J. Dwight Pentecost, “Daniel,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1359. [6]Stephen R. Miller, Daniel, vol. 18, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 242. [7] John Phillips, Exploring the Book of Daniel: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Da 9:3–19. [8]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Resolute, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2000), 110. [9]David Guzik, Daniel, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Da 9:4–15. [10]Edward E. Hindson and Woodrow Michael Kroll, eds., KJV Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 1650. [11]Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Daniel (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2017), Da 9:1–19. [12]Iain M. Duguid, Daniel, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Iain M. Duguid, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), 157-159. [13]Adrian Rogers, “Praying for America,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), Da 9:1–23.